LIKE: 

Despite having pinned for them all year, I've only read ACOTAR so far. Now I'm here to add more pine worthy books to the list.

Top Ten(1/2) Most Anticipated Releases for 2nd Half of 2015

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by the amazing people over at The Broke and the Bookish.

There are honestly, too many to capture at one time and I'm probably missing a bunch that I'm interested in as well as another portion that I've yet to discover. Nevertheless, here goes.

Also worth mentioning is Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner whose cover has yet to be released. 

-MARI

It's not like my weekly Waiting on Wednesday's are enough pining, I have to make an annual one as well. Behold, my most anticipated releases of 2015. In no particular order...

Maddy Spier has been in love with the boy next door forever. As his figure skating partner she spends time in his arms every day. But she’s also seen his arms around other girls—lots of other girls. 

Gabe can't imagine skating with anyone but Maddy, and together they have a real chance at winning some serious gold medals. So, he’s determined to keep thinking of her like a sister. After all, he’s never had a romantic relationship that lasted for more than two weeks.

But when their coach assigns a new romantic skating program, everything changes. Will this be the big break that Maddy’s been hoping for or the big breakup that Gabe has always feared? (GR)

January 6, 2015

... I just realized this book has already come out and is game to be devoured. In spirit of my eventual devouring of this book lets talk about it's awesomeness.

Soo cute!

Figure skating!!! I'm just going to imagine Tessa and Scott in the book and adore it through and through. I've never really read anything about skating and as a fan of the sport, I would love this for a cozy and snowy Sunday afternoon read.

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi's wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.(GR)

May 12, 2015

Not many people have heard of Khorasan unless they are of Persian origins or really into history, which makes me so excited to see that there is a whole book set in it! I've never read A Thousand and One Night's but the premise of this one gives me a bit of a Bluebeard and Cruel Beauty feel. Sounds amazing!

When Gia Montgomery's boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she has to think fast. After all, she'd been telling her friends about him for months now. This was supposed to be the night she proved he existed. So when she sees a cute guy waiting to pick up his sister, she enlists his help. The task is simple: be her fill-in boyfriend— two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. After that, she can win back the real Bradley.

The problem is that days after prom, it's not the real Bradley she's thinking about, but the stand-in. The one whose name she doesn't even know. But tracking him down doesn't mean they're done faking a relationship. Gia owes him a favor and his sister intends to see that he collects: his ex-girlfriend's graduation party — three hours, zero commitment, a few white lies.

Just when Gia begins to wonder if she could turn her fake boyfriend into a real one, Bradley comes waltzing back into her life, exposing her lie, and threatening to destroy her friendships and her new-found relationship. (GR)

May 5, 2015

This one sounds way to fun for me to ignore! I can't wait to see how their relationship develops, light romance is always a nice breather.

The girl known as Gretchen Whitestone has a secret: She used to be part of Adolf Hitler’s inner circle. More than a year after she made an enemy of her old family friend and fled Munich, she lives with a kindly English family, posing as an ordinary German immigrant, and is preparing to graduate from high school. Her love, Daniel Cohen, is a reporter in town. For the first time in her life, Gretchen is content.

But then, Daniel gets a telegram that sends him back to Germany, and Gretchen’s world turns upside-down. And when she receives word that Daniel is wanted for murder, she has to face the danger she thought she’d escaped-and return to her homeland.

Gretchen must do everything she can to avoid capture and recognition, even though saving Daniel will mean consorting with her former friends, the Nazi elite. And as they work to clear Daniel’s name, Gretchen and Daniel discover a deadly conspiracy stretching from the slums of Berlin to the Reichstag itself. Can they dig up the explosive truth and get out in time-or will Hitler discover them first? (GR)

April 21, 2015

I absolutely adores Prisoner of Smoke and Fog. I am very curious to see where this book will take us and how the characters will go about growing their relationship. Also, the beginning of WW2 is the setting so tensions are high especially for our almost political refuge protagonists.

When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless— straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.

Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in an effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her find the legendary sword that might save their world. As the two become unexpected allies, they uncover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic, and a love that may be their undoing. In a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night? (GR)

May 5, 2015

Cruel Beauty was another favourite form 2014 and I intend to continue the series. I especially appreciate heroines who can fight, Cruel Beauty had that but I think this one will take it to another level; the girl is guarding the Prince!! I love the cover and have high hopes to see more of Hodge's genius world.

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever. (GR)
May 5, 2015

It's not like I need the comparison to Kristin Cashore meeting George R.R. Martin to catapult me into reading a Sarah J. Maas book, but that sure as hell sealed the already sealed deal! I need this in my life.

I haven't been able to enjoy many faerie books but Maas's faerie's - if they are anything like the ones in Throne of Glass- are definitely up my alley.

Are any of these on your list?

-MARI

A discussion between P.E. and Mari.

P.E.: It's been a while since we did this, so let's go for it. A new year, new books. What book are you hyped up for?

Mari: Oh gosh that's just evil. How about every book I've spotlighted on WoW for the past year? Somehow I've managed to downsize to 3 so here it is. This Shattered World looks like a fantastic companion to These Broken Stars. I'm very excited to read about a female soldier captured by rebels, yes!! As for The Young Elites, I will literally read anything Marie Lu writes so if this was about Barney getting plastic surgery to be a green dinosaur, I would still read it. Lastly, Mortal Heart is the conclusion to one of my favourite series. This story is so amazing and I can't wait to read Annith's side of things.  Some other titles that I feel deserve a mention are: The Dark Artifices by Cassandra Clare and The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski.

P.E.: You know my book tastes pretty well. Let's spice this up: guess three books I'm dying to read. (They are sequels to books I've been telling you to read since forever!)

Mari: Lazy, I see right through you. But fine, the biggest, most obvious one is Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater. Next up is probably Rick Riordan's next book, which ever book it might be because he is your favourite and lastly I know you liked the The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey & Red Rising by Pearce Brown, so both of the sequels to those.

P.E.: And that is why I have a co-blogger. /endpost

Okay, maybe some more is needed. Mari's picks were all spot-on, and those are probably all the books I'm really dying to read. But, hype is not a finite thing: there is more to go around. For example, The Queen of the Tearling! Mari and I have been drooling over that book for quite some time now. I love epic fantasy with strong female characters that have to deal with politics. The rating on Goodreads isn't as high as I would have wanted (Oh no, a paltry 3.8), but that doesn't diminish my excitement!

Mari: I'm very much intrigued by this one, but I'm worried about some of the negative reviews surfacing. I'll still try it out but I'll have to get it from the library. A book that's been out for a while but I've only recently bothered to read the synopsis and realize that it's the kind of book I wanted to read is: The Kiss of Deception. I love the idea of someone running away on their wedding day, isn't that one of the most filmy scenes? Also, I would love to see the action between, the jilted prince and the assassin all in the process to woo a runaway princess!

P.E.: It reminds me of the first awesome scene in Spy Kids, when the parents are telling the story of their wedding? I loved that movie so much when I was a kid. Who's kidding, I still do. Anyway, another book I'm super excited for is Red Queen. I've had pretty great experiences with books that have "red" in their titles in the past (hehe), and the premise of this one is actually surprisingly close to Red Rising, what with the colour caste system. I guess I'm a sucker for books that promise adventure, intrigue, and seem a bit epic. I haven't read any reviews of Red Queen yet so I don't know if my excitement is warranted.

Mari: OHH, I can't say I've read any reviews but I have seen some buzz on this which is making me quite interested. I'm also super excited about this one.

These Are Our Hype Up Books, What Are Yours?

-P.E. & MARI